Heaven Adores You premieres next month at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Heaven Adores You, the upcoming feature-length documentary film that explores the life of Elliott Smith, premieres next month at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and it's sounding like it's going to be essential viewing for any fan of the late artist's music.

Director Nickolas Rossi was aided in creating his personal portrait of the musician's life by many of Smith's own friends and family, who opened up and shared some of his unreleased music, along with unseen photos and video of him, for inclusion in the film. It's list of talking heads is long, and includes; Jon Brion, Larry Crane, Neil Gust, Tony Lash, Brandt Peterson, Rob Schnapf, Slim Moon, Smith's sister Ashley, and more telling their stories of his life.

Read Rossi's own take on the film, and see its Kickstarter trailer below.

"Heaven Adores You came about over many years. I wanted to build on the love that the fans had for Elliott. I wanted to do something that honored his contributions to the music scene, to the global community, and to my own personal journey. The circumstances around Elliott's death created a very tight circle amongst his friends. Everyone else seemed to want to pry into the sensational darkness surrounding his death.

What if we could make something about the life and music of Elliott Smith, instead of just focusing on his death? If we could make something that looked at his incredible talent as an accomplished musician and poet, instead of his struggles exacerbated by well-deserved fame? What if we could make something where Elliott was able to narrate the journey of his life and have his friends support his incredible story?

Heaven Adores You aims to be just that: A visual, melodic love letter of sorts to a musical genius, in the environments that he knew best: Portland, New York, and Los Angeles. By having Elliott guide us himself, via recorded conversations and interviews, I am hopeful that he can tell his own story once and for all, surrounded by the people who loved him dearly."